Five years after she had been dragged through the town in The Quiet Man, Maureen O’Hara gets to duel again with John Wayne, but it is a less rewarding experience. It is the biopic of Frank W. ‘Spig’ Wead (Wayne), a Second World War flying ace who became a Hollywood screenwriter.
It’s something of a mess, truth be told, uneven and over-complicated, surprising for a director renowned for his even-handed storytelling, starting out as a roustabout comedy, before settling down to become a rather drab drama. Disappointing, to say the least, a feeling intensified when you realise this was made off the back of The Searchers.
cast
John Wayne as Frank W. ‘Spig’ Wead
Dan Dailey as ‘Jughead’ Carson
Maureen O’Hara as Min Wead
Ward Bond as John Dodge
Ken Curtis as John Dale Price
Edmund Lowe as Adm. Moffett
Kenneth Tobey as Capt. Herbert Allen Hazard
James Todd as Jack Travis
Barry Kelley as Capt. Jock Clark
Sig Ruman as Manager
Henry O’Neill as Capt. Spear
Willis Bouchey as Barton
Dorothy Jordan as Rose Brentmann
crew
Director: John Ford
USA | 110 minutes | 1957
